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Looking back on my musical learning, and being primarily a hobbyist (or "professional student") as I like to call myself, I've had a couple of areas of growth that came "late" - or much later than they could have. Perhaps sharing some of these experiences can help others.
For me, one personal challenge I've had is being able to remember the chord progressions for pop and rock songs. I have a friend who just seems "naturally" better than me at this - he can seem to hum the melody to himself and his fingers almost "naturally" move to the right (or close enough) chords. When I try to do the same, it's almost like a 'trial and error' approach, where my fingers will go to chords that sound nothing even close to the chord that turns out to be the right one. What I've finally come to realize is that I just have not committed enough different songs to memory. Period. I've recently put aside ALL other aspects of playing to ONLY work on learning to memorize favorite songs and deeply understand the key / (nashville) number of the chords in each song. What I don't yet do (in the interest of time and to avoid confusing my muscle memory) is to transpose the songs to different keys.
What musical plateaus are you guys working on, or have at some point gotten past, that were challenging to you ?
TIA,
Joe
BB/RB 2025
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Well, there's that debilitating stroke I suffered in 2009. Besides the loss of functionality in my left arm and leg, my short term memory went away for about 10 years.
I found new ways to play the bass one-handed and resumed performing within a year. Learned to drive again and was back at my music industry day job 5 months later — having to use a database to keep track of everything for many years allowed me to do that (you may have spoken to me about a complicated contract for hours the day before but I wouldn't have remembered any of that; every detail would be in my notes, however). Working from home proved to be quite beneficial to myself and my employer till I retired.
My short term memory is back to normal for someone my age but I'm unable to memorize new music. If I knew a piece before, I can still sing it cold and now conduct with my right arm (good exercise!). Sight-reading was one skill that never deserted me. I'll never walk longer than short distances nor play my stringed instruments except bass live again. I do play guitar/banjo/mandolin one-handed for records but there's a lot of re-tuning between chords so that I can edit my playing into a performance.
BIAB has been a big help. I never do a song out of the box but I've become adept at importing the tracks into a DAW and editing them into the performance I had in mind. I write, consult on music matters and on AI projects for (insert NDA here). The PROs have all learned that I am in the wind and those short term gigs supplant my retirement quite nicely.
The iPad hadn't existed yet in 2009 but it turned out to be quite handy when it became available Jan 2010, then GarageBand Instruments 22 months later. Could I get by without the Apple universe tying my devices together? Sure but I am grateful that I don't have to. I travel, often by myself, but it costs more for me than most. I perform on stage again but cannot memorize new music so I stick to roles that I learned between 1969–2009. I do a ton of voice over.
The struggle? 1. Stay on top of new tech and use it to my advantage. 2. Try to work more quickly—everything I do on a computer is one-handed, including typing this, and that takes time. Lots and lots of time.
I am way past being ready for grandchildren.
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac
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Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
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Journeyman
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I commend you Mike, I love hearing stories like this. A lot of people would just hang up their hats and quit doing what they once loved. You have been blessed indeed.
BIAB 2026 Ultrapack- Fender Studio Pro 8, Windows 11, Mac Mini M4 with Logic Pro 11, Melodyne Studio, Luna Pro
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WTG Mike! I'm impressed and happy for you.
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
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Mike - yours is truly an inspiring story of amazing resilience. I wish you continued progress at an amazing rate.
Also - just picked up on one of your comments about typing - perhaps, if your voice allows it, you can make increased use of speech to text.
BB/RB 2025
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WOW Mike you have been through a lot.
I am glad that you persevered and have accomplished as much as you have thus far.
You are an inspiration to all of us.
Principal: Your child always causes trouble in school.
Me: My child causes trouble at home, do I ever call you?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Mike, you highlight there some of the things that make a stroke so tough. I know others who've had similar struggles to get back as close as they can to their 'old self'. It's hard, both physically and mentally ... it's as frustrating as Hell.
I have a little idea of the challenges after a serious concussion that left me unable to speak properly and a few other challenges, but I personally had no physical challenges as such(*). Learning to talk properly again took a few years and, in truth, I'm still not quite back to where I was and it's now 28 years since the damage.
You have my utmost respect, notwithstanding the occasional friction between us.
Edit: (*) Not quite true ... for some years even the slightest bump on the head would have me squealing like the proverbial stuck pig. Incredibly sesnsitive; incredibly painful.
Last edited by Gordon Scott; 11/28/24 04:19 AM.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
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That's quite a journey you're on, Mike! Thanks for sharing so many details of your challenges, struggles and successes. That's really inspirational, as others have said. Wishing the best for you and yours this holiday season! Ron
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
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Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Also - just picked up on one of your comments about typing - perhaps, if your voice allows it, you can make increased use of speech to text. I have a clear speaking voice, perhaps overly-articulate from spending so many years on stage. My issue with text-to-speech is that I spend more time editing than I would by typing one-handed. Singing again took years. With half my body paralyzed, that included vocal cords (pitch & range) and my diaphragm (power and stamina). How this video showed up on a Russian web site ten years later is still unclear. Anyway, this production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Ruddigore was my first public performance, 4 1/2 years after my incident, surprised as hell that I passed the audition. I had to rehearse my breathing just to sing—I hadn’t figured out that I was singing with only one lung and I’m a bit pitchy. My cape was designed to cover my lack of movement and is a repurposed velvet theater curtain that made me feel like Scarlett O’Hara. The cane with the skull is a traditional prop for Roderick and is the one I’d used twelve years earlier with the skull reinforced so that it could bear my weight. One thing I always enjoyed about G&S is that the bass normally shows up in the second act. My lines starting at “Beware, beware, beware…” are part of the role as I had done it twelve and thirty-eight years earlier (migawd, that was 50 years ago!) but the page before was cut by Gilbert from the original production and added to this. Every night, I was studying that page before it was taken from me as the screen revealed my presence and I started to sing. I wasn’t going to post this but it’s an enjoyable production of a show that most don’t know. Lyric Theatre’s 2013 “Ruddigore” Eleven years later, I move no better but I no longer have to think about my breathing as I now have some lung function on the left side—pitch isn’t great but I can blame some of that on being 70. Frustrating being able to hear the right notes and know that I don’t always hit them. My memory has improved so that I could memorize that first page if I ever sing the role again. I do occasional small roles and am conducting a Christmas choir that includes some of the folks from that 2013 show—this is done from a wheelchair. Standing is a lot harder on me than walking short distances.
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
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Very cool video, Mike. That was a lively production! Never would have guessed that the tall, distinguished actor with the big voice was singing on half a lung. Well done!
For those who want to skip to Sir Roderic's scenes, they start at about 1:40 and 2:08.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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My biggest hurdle I remember was that I got a scholarship to one of Michigan' s nicer Fine Arts camps one summer.
I was in my last year of Junior High, but I tested at High School level, so was assigned there.
About a month before going I got braces (teeth).
That made playing at the level I was used to extremely difficult (and painful).
I was also in with other students that were Junior/Seniors in H.S., so socially it was also a miserable experience.
*May have contributed to my distaste for Buddy Rich and my admiration of Victor Borge, both of who were clinicians that year.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
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